Shelf life of primers?

[beshears]

Stored in original packing in a cool dry basement?

[Froogal]

I put them in a plastic bag and close it up tight. Maybe not necessary, but it can't hurt. I seem to use them up in less than 2 years, so really don't know the shelf life.

[762 shooter]

I have used old stock that was purchased in the mid eighties.
No problems.

762

[labradigger1]

I have been using primers from early 60’s for years. No ftf

[ascast]

I use a lot from the 50's. I see no issues. I do not use them in match or hunting loads just on principle; but have never proven them bad.

[farmerjim]

I have been using primers from early 60’s for years. No ftf

Me too.

[Tripplebeards]

I would assume they will last longer then your and our lifetimes if stored in a cool and dry area. I’ve had primers that are over 20 years old I stored in outside unheated storage for a couple years here in WI and all went bang. I keep mine in the house inside my reloading cabinet now.

[PNW_Steve]

Good to hear. I am about to break into a thousand spp that are around fourty years old.

[Eddie Southgate]

I have primers made in the 50's that I bought in the 60's and have never had a bad one from the bunch . I have had 1 box of 100 CCI's made in the 80's that were junk by the mid 90's . The rest of the 1000 that that box came from were and still are good . Mine are stored in the detached garage and also my bedroom closet in my house in Tennessee and in the garage at the house in Alabama . No special storage , just setting on a shelf . I would not put them in a ziplock bag for fear that it might sweat and expose them to moisture . I am a hoarder and have been since the mid 60's and have several 100,000 primers stored in two states and the one box is all I have ever lost . Neither garage is insulated or has heating or cooling except a wood heater in the winter when in use only .

[JimB..]

I’m loading primers from the 70’s now, no problems at all.

[Texas Gun]

I have primers that have been wet dry them out and maybe one out of 100 did not work right They hade been damp long enough for mold to grow on the box’s they where old alcan primers

[dverna]

A few years ago I used up over 1000 from the 70's and they were fine. No special storage.

It was enough proof to me that I could keep adding to my inventory without risk.

[Poygan]

In the late seventies I bought Winchester Staynless Primers, Np. 6 1/2 - 116 in wooden trays, end on boxes stamped SG91L17 from a local hardware store. I was told by an older gentleman that they were used because small pistol primers were not available in WWII for revolver rounds. I used then mostly in pistol rounds and a few in M-1 Carbine rounds. All worked without any misfires. Don't know how old they are but perhaps someone can date them by the above description.

[Conditor22]

these still work fine

https://i.imgur.com/nwP3lCC.jpg

[1hole]

I happened to pick up a couple of surplus WW2 bricks of small pistol caps at a Tampa gun show in the mid 60s; I'm 80 now so they are about as old as me. If I didn't know their age I'd swear they were made last year and stored in a yellowed plain paper box but me ... well, that's a different story.

[MOA]

https://i.postimg.cc/W33PPJ8k/20150116_125533.jpg (https://postimg.cc/2qPtQyPk)


https://i.postimg.cc/QtCfMN1w/20150116_125404.jpg (https://postimg.cc/gX9VSWMH)


https://i.postimg.cc/ZR00sXz6/20150116_125421.jpg (https://postimg.cc/phb2pGTd)


These were from the fifties when the wood trays were still used. I had two cases of these and they work just fine.

[RP]

I picked up primers that the boxing was showing signs of being wet at one time or another and were old as well had no issues so far and I used over half of them.

[swamp]

I got a box of reloading stuff a friend got when his granddad died. There were two or three 100 count boxes of Herter's primers in there. Worked fine.
swamp

[Shawlerbrook]

If stored properly they probably have a longer shelf life than we do.

[Static line]

I just got done loading and shooting CCI 350's that I bought in the 70's for my 44 magnum. They went boom just fine. I have always kept them in the basement where it was cool, in a wood cabinet. Only in the past several years have I run a dehumidifier in the Summer. Winter time I usually don't need to run it. I just store the primers separate from my powders.

[BobT]

I'm not sure how old they are but I have primers that were priced at $0.98 or $0.99 a box :shock:

[15meter]

https://i.postimg.cc/W33PPJ8k/20150116_125533.jpg (https://postimg.cc/2qPtQyPk)


https://i.postimg.cc/QtCfMN1w/20150116_125404.jpg (https://postimg.cc/gX9VSWMH)


https://i.postimg.cc/ZR00sXz6/20150116_125421.jpg (https://postimg.cc/phb2pGTd)


These were from the fifties when the wood trays were still used. I had two cases of these and they work just fine.

Used up a box of these wood tray primers earlier this summer that had been gifted to me, all went bang.

[monkey wrangler]

I am glad to hear the life of primers is that long. I tried to keep about 2-5 years worth of primers. But after the dust settles I will increase that amount out farther.

[Tripplebeards]

I went through my inventory yesterday and am down to one brick of LMP and 200 LMR so they are on my my list today when I hit the LGS that has both in stock for $39.99. Since it’s a 1 brick limit per day and I will be taking a buddy with to buy for me I’ll probably pick up another box of LMP tomorrow since I have 5 guns and pistols to load for it. I should have enough SR and LR to get me by till the stupidity stops. I’ll probably pick up some SP tomorrow as well so I have a few if I want to start loading for my 32 S&W or 9mm some day.

[Drm50]

I don’t recommend putting primers or ammo in sealed plastic bags in location with big temperature swings. Water can condense in bag. Maybe water don’t hurt primers but I like mine dry and clean.

[Russel A]

I'm sure that I have used some from the 80's recently.
No difference noticed. Bulk primers are stored in the basement in there original packaging.

[elmacgyver0]

I am glad to hear the life of primers is that long. I tried to keep about 2-5 years worth of primers. But after the dust settles I will increase that amount out farther.

You seem pretty optimistic.
Hope you are right.

[Tripplebeards]

You seem pretty optimistic.
Hope you are right.

My LGS has every size primer in stock at normal prices and no one has been buying them. I’ve been there three times in the last two weeks and there has basically been one guy trying to buy up all the SP primers they have stock piles up on the back room with a 500 a day limit according to the owner who sold my a brick of them yesterday. I bought three bricks on three visits. Two cci 200’s and one CCi 350. I’ll head back this morning for another brick of 350’s if they have one left. There was one and a half bricks on the shelf yesterday afternoon on my last visit. If they are out of 350’s I’ll get a brick of the 250’s along with another 500 of the cci 500’s and call it a day. I think that will hold me over for a few elections accept for SP if I start getting into reloading for it. I’m sure I will sooner then later if the 9mm shortage stays constant for a couple of years. I figured at $39.99 per brick of CCI I’ll keep buying some more till they run out or I feel I will never need any more. Getting tired of looking for components I should have stocked up on. I believe I will have this issue fixed after today’s visits.

[cuslog]

1970's I believe, still go bang just fine.

269401

[30calflash]

I've some of the CCI primers shown by Conditor and tey are fine. I've some yellow box win/westerns that i will get into soon.

The only thing I had go bad were some RWS musket caps. They were in the trunk of the car with some fluctuating temps and humidity. They didn't go bang or event phzzz!

[Texas by God]

99 of these went bang in .22 Hornet loads a few years back and I'll bet $100 that the last one will too! They are probably older than I am for sure. The rounded face was neat.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201015/93f64f5d3c3a90833198b364802056d5.jpg

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[Tripplebeards]

That’s a cool vintage box^^^^. You might have to load them with sone primers just for show and tell when the last one goes bang.

[Murphy]

I've always kept my primers in the shop along with all of my other reloading gear. A lot of us seem to have had the same experience. Even after years, if not decades, they still work just fine. This has been an interesting thread in the fact that the membership here is now 50,000+. We're spread all across the land in varying climates, from both coasts to the extreme north and south. I honestly have no idea how old some of my primers are. I've been reloading since the late 70's. I have a small box that I tend to toss partially used boxes of 100 in after making up a small batch for testing. I haven't a clue as to how old some of them may be. Like most others from reading this thread, they still work if I need to try just a few.

Murphy

[jfruser]

This is certainly heartening. I have come back to reloading after a 15 year hiatus and was looking at my 15YO stored in the garage primers with a gimlet eye. Decided to use them only in target/range applications and use new on heftier loads. I may be overly cautious, given the expereinces recounted here.

[David2011]

Several years ago I got primers from two friends. One lived about 200 yards off of salt water and the other was about 5 miles inland from the first guy. All of them had been stored in unairconditioned garages on the Texas Gulf Coast for about 20 years. None failed to fire.

[uscra112]

I don’t recommend putting primers or ammo in sealed plastic bags in location with big temperature swings. Water can condense in bag. Maybe water don’t hurt primers but I like mine dry and clean.

If the bag is sealed, there won't be any more moisture inside it to "sweat" than there was when you sealed it. And how much will that be? If you evacuated it like you should have, precious little.

[fcvan]

The current shelf life seems to be 20 minutes after they hit the shelf. They are swooped up 20 minutes after that.

[toallmy]

If I'm not mistaken several years ago there was a push to change the priming compound to a new improved environmental friendly compound - that had me concerned . But I suppose we won't know for years if it matters , and primers don't last long in my cabinet anyway .

[Petrol & Powder]

if stored properly they probably have a longer shelf life than we do.

/\ this /\

[Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang]

I have bricks of primers from the 70s and all work fine and some trays that are probably a bit older than that and no problems. Where do you guys store your primers? Separate from your powder?

[John Boy]

Primers will last longer than your life time

[1hole]

Primers will last longer than your life time

Truly said. And they don't need any special care between hot and cold to do it. Any heat or cold that man can survive in won't hurt them nor will humidity do much. Infact, a friend once had a "flood" in his basement loading room and his primer stash got submerged. He took the trays out of the covers and let them set in his (dry) house for a few weeks. They dried of course and they worked fine afterwards.

I still have a few boxes of WW 2 surplus small pistol caps that are now some 75+ years old; they work the same as new ones. And I have some 1920's .30-30 ammo that shoots quite well.

[mister gizmo]

Thanks! Good information. Now I have 1200+ usable primers to use. :Fire::Fire:

[lightman]

Like the others have said, they have a very long shelf life if stored in a stable environment. One of my older friends actually scrounges through gunshows looking for old primers. Now if I was going on an expensive hunt, shooting in a big match or something of the kind I would use the newest and freshest that I had. But I doubt that there would be any difference from my older ones.

[GasGuzzler]

They're pretty hard to ruin really.

[mike4045]

I have shot some primers from 20 year old plus lots, no issues at all, as has been said I think they last a long time.

[knappasarn]

they sure last long.
I am just now using up the last of the primers I got from my dad's cousin when he quit reloading a couple of years ago, they were bought by him in the sixties.

[1hole]

12345678910

[Teddy (punchie)]

If they look okay I would say they are good to use. I bought some that were old, 50's maybe older. I thought the boxes were cool, the wood between them. Different numbers then used today. I was going to make a primer box collection. I think it would be cool to have. Also try hold one to bullet boxes.

[Sleeping Dog]

Primers have been designed to last a long time. The age that the primers can last depend on what they are made from. The old corrosive style (H-48 compound) that went out of use around WWII is very stable -- so they can last almost indefinitely. The next major style is non-corrosive, Lead Nitratohypophosphite. They came around the 1900's are also very stable (if you consider something you hit that explodes stable) and are much of what is used today. There are new compounds coming out that do not have lead in them made with Tetrazene, Styphnic Acid or Picric Acid. These are much less toxic than the current lead-based ones and appear to be stable.

There are a variety of green primers, such as a red-phosphorus based ones developed by ATK, but there is concern about their shelf life. To deal with that, they coated the phosphorus to keep it degrading. Time will tell how good this new formula is.

In general, if the formula doesn't last a good long while, it doesn't make it commercially. The biggest driver for primers is the military and they need stuff that is super stable in very crummy conditions. Thus, civilian shooters get the benefit of all of the military R&D.

[donerightsigns]

someone was selling guns scopes primers all sorts of stuff from a house in oregon. I bought 20 boxes of small rifle. 1000 primers per box made by CCI. I assume they where somewhat old because they were in a white box with red lettering. Todays CCI boxes are blue. But they where dry and looked brand new. Paid 10.00 per box. they sat around for about a year. recently i loaded some 9mm pistol rounds using these rifle primers. The pistol is a Taurs G2c. 1 out of every 5 would not fire. Now i never really thought there was much of a difference between a pistol primer and a rifle primer. And I have always preferred to use Winchester primers. Someone suggested that the pistol firing pin spring was not strong enough for a rifle primer. So i loaded up some of my .223 rounds and used the same older primers. Shure as ****. 10 out of 10 fired.

[kevin c]

I'd always been told that rifle primers are harder than pistol. AAMOF, back in the day, a fair number of the potentially high pressure loads meeting the old higher major power for USPSA shooting used srp's to prevent primer piercing. Less common now, with the power factor being lower.

[Bayou52]

Shelf life of properly stored primers is longer than the life of the OP.

I shot a 45 acp cartridge of WW I vintage, marked 1916. Went bang... (should've kept it rather than shoot it, though!)

[CraigOK]

If I'm not mistaken several years ago there was a push to change the priming compound to a new improved environmental friendly compound - that had me concerned . But I suppose we won't know for years if it matters , and primers don't last long in my cabinet anyway .

Thats not a bad point. I dont have anything the over 10 years old so I'll probably be keeping them climate controlled

[imashooter2]

Stored in original packing in a cool dry basement?

Approximately your children’s lifetime plus 50 years.

[saturn]

Loaded some 38 special with old herters primers from the wooden tray era(probably 1950's) All went and actually were pretty accurate but, the ES was over 105 fps for 6 shots. The same loads with new CCI's run about 20to30 fps ES.

[Led]

If stored correctly a very long time. I've personally fired many thousands of rounds from the 1930's in various military calibers.

Thanks,
Stephen

[Shawlerbrook]

Only about a month, but I will take all the expired ones off your hands. :bigsmyl2::Fire:

[GT1]

Longer than the average American's life span.
A century, probably a lot longer as long as corrosion free and the sealer is intact. Primers are a lot harder to kill than folks realize.

[hoodat]

I've got a few boxes that I got from Jesus when he and I used to shoot squeaks together. :-P

Seriously, I've gotta believe that they will durned near last forever. Another thing, water doesn't seem to kill them. jd

[GT1]

I have seen them go off after being soaked in motor oil for a couple days.
The best way to dispose of them is to load them and shoot them.

[farmbif]

if the primers are on the shelf they don't last very long, they get loaded into ammo and shot up in no too much time

[David2011]

GT1, since you’re new here you may not understand why we use the “cartoon” name “boolits”. It’s an easy way to differentiate whether cast lead or gilding metal jacketed is the subject. Boolits = cast; bullets are jacketed.

Apologies to everyone else for hijacking the thread.

[jpamp]

It amazes me how often I think of a question like this and then find a thread on this forum. Now with primers being the prized possessions they are right now I don’t want to test submerging them, but glad to know they should go bang even if they were once exposed to a little humidity in storage.

[GONRA]

GONRA reminds ya'll that "GREEN" (Pb, Ba, .... free, etc) primers are unlikely
unlikely to EVER have the shelf life of the lead styphnate - tetracene primers
we're all used to.

[pworley1]

I am still using some I bought in the early 70's with no issues.

[Gtrubicon]

I’m 45 years old, I am reloading and shooting with primers that are much older than I.

[jmorris]

They will last long enough for new generations of reloaders to come about wondering where to find any. My oldest were around before AOL launched, the Pontiac Fiero was considered a mid engine sports car with all its 140 hp, kids wore parachute pants to hang out at the skating rink and cell phones were the size of suitcases and were “installed” into cars by stereo shops.

Yeah, they have a longer life than lots of stuff.